Flying with children introduces a new dimension to travel. Patience levels are short, so ensuring a smooth trip is difficult. Young children are particularly vulnerable to the rigours of flying and especial care and planning should be carried out to ensure a healthy trip.

Here are some top tips from Flighthealth.org:

Tips for Flying With Children

Contact your airline in advance to see what provisions they offer for small children, i.e. sky cots, baby food, toddler meals, children’s entertainment (cartoons, goody bags etc).
Ask whether you can reserve seats in advance, so that you can guarantee that you are all flying together as a family.
Bring plenty of snacks for children, in case they do not like the in-flight meals.
Always carry plenty of toys and games to prevent children from becoming bored and upset.
Allow plenty of time to do everything, allocate sufficient time to navigate the airport with children. Families are usually permitted to board the plan first.
To avoid accentuating tiredness, try and fly at reasonable day time hours, so that their daily schedule isn’t disrupted too much. Though tests show that young children are least affected by jet lag in a comparison study to adults.